5

"Do lead, Abode of Sattwa, guide along, O Vishnu, lead; O Power that protect, guide; With Brahma by Thy side, do show the way To Shiva's home where hope eternal shines, To KAILAS where all founts of valour spring; Do lead, Abode of Sattwa, guide along, With hope of winning Shiva's help we feel strong."

Thus sang the harassed Devas, stricken with grief: Their kingdom lay low at the conqueror's heels, And harsh oppression raged with cruel zeal, And good ones bold bit prison bars in vain While fair ones gave themselves to shameful appetites; And Truth and honour had to hide in fear, Or fall a prey to monster's heartless ire.

A power that had often sunk in the dust And dragged down, as it feel, its leaders fierce, Like BALI, KAL KHANJA, MAHA ROUDRA, KALAKEYA and NIVATA KAVACHA, Had risen from its ashes, live with envy And passion and desire vindictive to rule And hold the Devas under crushing heels.

6

O Devas, learn to lift the KAVADI: The pride of place and power lingers still, The pride of being good peeps from your depths of woe, The pride ye are the favoured of the good Makes your pace haughty, rolls the taunt on your tongues, Your virtues have been tainted by your pride; O Devas, learn to lift the KAVADI And fill with reverence and humility. It is a pleasant thing to think of God's love, It is sweet to rely on His forgiveness; It is a sattwic thought, a milestone of progress To think of God as love; yet it is a thought

That suits the sinner best, for he can sin And speed in his course of salacity And flourish his cant God's love will forgive.

It is fine to think that there is no help And pass for one "advanced and without fear," It is finer to think there is a help And boldly tread the path of righteousness: The lack of fear incites the low to crime, And hell and heaven are no faith of shame But truths of states of consciousness that warn and guide.

7

God's love seen in the setting of the law Of karma, the sole pivot on which revolves This universal life, and the grace that pours From His unstinting love, and shows the way, And strengthens us, to overcome the Force Of KARMA, is the truth of God's great love; For Karma must rule, else the worlds will break.

O Devas, it is a most dangerous thing To speak ill of the great, to insult the wise; DAKSHA the unwise, arrogant, conceited, Abused the Lord to whom he owed his place; The loyalty of DEVAS was on test, But silent they sat and they acquiesced, Forgetting loyalty is law's backbone!

The curse that poured from Nandi's truthful lips Forewarned of the dire punishment that would fall From Brahma's wisdom, and from Vishnu's Love All help will come, and trials you must face For you must fill with humility and bow To Him Whose highest place you fail to defend When vulgar DAKSHA violently blasphemed.

8

"O Vishnu, may Thy Chakra cut our sin,

And make us fit to see the Lord Supreme; The bier of our fallen greatness we bear Wet with the blood we have shed in our trials, And wet with the tears that relieved despair: O Vishnu, may Thy Chakra cut our sin, The trident's help may we be sure to win" "O Devas, the Supreme Lord does not want The remnants of your Power or Empire; Your broken pride in suffering's fire burnt To ashes, mixed with tears of repentance, Must glisten on your foreheads and you should tread On live coals where your shattered ego burns And give as KAVADI a heart chaste and pure." "Lord Vishnu, do lead, may Thy Chakra shed The light we sorely need, and guide us along To Him that wields the trident where combine The triads of all powers we can know - Of strength divine, of sacrifice and penance, Of paths, of gunas three, of faith and charity: Lord, give us strength to take the KAVADI."

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To Devas that prayed thus Lord Brahma spoke: "O Devas, hear: of Siva's strength shall be born The ONE the like of whom has NEVER yet been, And He shall rule the world for all time to come; When ancient races perish and empires break, And continents sink to the depths of the sea, He will be there to guard the principle of life.

Those that deny God's power and deny The karmic law, and career recklessly Through crime, sin and debauchery, will see Between earth and sky the hell they denied Hang as a mass of venom, black, malignant, And all-consuming fire, that will decant Into the wicked through all the sense-inlets.

This will not be Shiva deigns to wed Sri Parvati now sunk in Tapas deep,

In prayer Shiva may accept her as bride: What need we do to hasten that great day When Shiva and GAURI on bridal jhoola Will float to the tune of the music of OM And fill the good with bliss, the bad with fear?"

...to continue